Required Reading: Babes and the Hulk Manga Edition

So today I've got two items for you to peruse that revolve around lesser-known manga. The first is one I've mentioned before but bears repeating: DMP has an online preview of Osamu Tezuka's Swallowing the Earth online. I read through it and it's really interesting-- a bit Great Expectations-esque in that the lead female character uses her beauty to seduce men to insanity and chaos. (For non-Dickens fans, in Great Expectations Estella Havisham is raised with the specific goal of breaking men's hearts as vengeance for her foster mother.)

Anyway, it's well worth a read for those of you old enough to see a bit of artistic nudity in a sexual situation. (And I know that statement just totally sold it to at least a few of you!) Check it out here.

Also in this theme we have the 4thletter! blog, which has placed a spotlight on Lone Wolf and Cub creator Kazuo Koike's 1970 work Haruku: Monsutaa Komikku, which features a manga version of the Hulk. Perhaps Marvel's first attempt at manga? Via The Beat, who plead for Marvel to..well, they don't say specifically what they're pleading for, but they come to the conclusion that “the Hulk was made for manga.” I can't disagree, and I don't think you will either, so check it out!

"I think Disney was shocked by Japanese anime. Japanese anime isn't unrealistic like Western style animation, nor do its characters feel made-up. Shows like 'Anpanman' are part of the fabric of our society. That kind of imagery, that personality of character, is something universal."

...Right?

And finally, on a more serious note, Matt Thorn has a solid summary of the goings-on about the Handley case as it comes to its closing. He also originally shared emails between himself and Handley's lawyer, as well as with Handley's mother, but was unfortunately asked to remove the information, presumably because sentencing has not yet occurred-- though given that Handley is reportedly unhappy with the way his plea has been met (I believe I read, though I can't find the article now, that he was expecting his plea to lead to sentencing leniency, but that the prosecution still seeks the maximum penalty).

The summary of links is well worth going through, even without Thorn's correspondence, so check it out.

HOMEWORK:

We've had enough bad news lately, so let's have a more fun piece of homework. Obviously not all anime are more realistic than all Disney or other cartoons, but even cartoons for adults in the US tend to be more over-the-top and absurd rather than serious dramas, with some exceptions. Why do you think that is?